Futari de Ouen!
by EvilDeathKitty
Summary: Cheerleaders! Schoolgirls! Summoned beings! Jun Kashihara has to figure out the nature of a certain squad member's death while Mizuki Arisato unravels some rumors regarding a set of "Deceit Diaries"... Together, they find truth! Separately!
1. The Situation

Well, this is my second attempt at trying to make a coherent crossover series. Of course, I have a nasty habit of never finishing anything to my satisfaction and basically just making stuff up as I go, so don't expect my updates to last long. I do have an idea of who's going to be where in the first half, so let's go with that for now.

I DON'T OWN ANYTHING HERE. IF I DO, THEN OH SILLY ME.

* * *

Jun Kashihara had yet another slow day at the flower shop.

He had heard all about the opportunities to start a booming business in the southern part of Tokyo, so he decided to open up a flower shop there. Unfortunately, the realtor never told him that it would be best to start a small business in the town across the river, because unless you had the skills and the money, there was no way in hell you could even compete against the Hanatori Corporation, home to some of the richest families in Japan. Low on money and low on hope, Jun was running out of options.

"O-"

"O..."

"Oh, a poster!"

If the current situation was a cloud, then this poster was his silver lining: a chance to gain back some lost wealth, and maybe gain some extra in the process. All he needed to do was participate in a contest with the tiers of beauty, personality, and a short examination by the judge. Jun was well-known for his effeminate looks, and he always fancied himself as a pretty nice guy. The only real challenge was the examination, but he had nothing to hide.

"Contest starts this Saturday at 3-26 Shiratori Avenue, huh? I might need to buy myself a map of this city…"


	2. The Sides

March 25th, 3-26 Shiratori Avenue…

Jun began to examine the other contestants in the lobby. "Hmm, this doesn't seem so bad. The competition isn't all that great, and I just got this great dress for the occasion!"

The contest seemed rather normal; with people of all types participating for what Jun heard was a position for some new pop group or something, along with the cash prize he heard of on the poster. He hoped that the judges would be okay with his crossdressing, as that was his main gimmick for now.

"Hey! Can anyone hear me?"

The young man turned around, trying to find the source of the voice. However, he couldn't trace the source of it, and so he tried calling back to the unknown person.

"Where are you? I can't seem to find your location."

"I'm right over here," the voice said. Jun turned to the direction it came from, but all he could see was a table with a small vase on it. Suddenly, Jun saw a short flash of a person right next to the table, wearing an odd uniform and an agitated look on his face. Before he could ask anything more, the speakers overhead began to play an announcement.

"Attention all contestants, the beauty portion of this contest is starting. All contestants must report to the auditorium immediately."

Jun went up to one of the guards, inexplicably wearing shades and a wig, and asked, "Hey, about that guy right next to the vase table…"

"Hm? I don't see anyone over there. Are you sure you've been drinking enough water today?"

"Eh?" He looked back at the table, but there was nobody there. Was there even a person there in the first place? Either way, he had to move on.

* * *

An excited announcer was at center stage, providing an introduction with exaggerated gestures. "Welcome to Asahi Idol! Sponsored by the MHK and Friend Association. Today we're going to see our contestants show off their stuff for the chance to join our exclusive Saint du Carrefour Academy and win our cash prize of 60 million yen! Now who's going to be our lucky winner? Just wait and see!"

As the others were done their turns, it was finally Jun's turn to get up on stage. The spotlights were blinding, and there was quite an audience, but Jun tried his best to show his stuff. Walking gracefully across the stage, the audience was both enthralled and confused.

The announcer sputtered, "M-Miss? Weren't you told earlier that this was a male-only contest?"

"But of course! Why do you think I prepared _this_?" Jun flung his dress upward; revealing that underneath his Caribbean Green dress was a shimmering gold vest with black pants. He caught the dress in his arms and did a waltz with it, further confusing the audience. His steps were slow and graceful, but a little shaky from inexperience. Even so, he won the audience over as he flung the dress up one again, only to slip back into it in a ballerina-like pose.

The announcer geared right back up to maximum loudness after the contest came to a close. "Now THAT was an interesting turn of events! Now it's up to our panel of judges to see who will win this once-in-a-lifetime experience! Unfortunately, their decision is TOP SECRET! However, it's not final yet, as we still have the interviews to cover! That's all for now, folks, on… ASAHI IDOOOOOOOL!"

Exiting the stage, Jun began to wonder to himself, "Is everyone in this town really that crazy? If so, I actually feel pretty relieved that I don't have any customers." He then remembered the person he saw from earlier. He tried looking around again, but he couldn't see anyone who fit the profile.

"Maybe that suspicious-looking guard was right. I should probably take better care of my health." But as he said this, he noticed a note on the vase.

_Congratulations! I thought your performance was great. Senpai seems to really like it too. I'm sure we'll be able to talk later, but I think I've overstayed my visit for now. I hope you win the contest! (Because personally, you're the only one I think I can talk to.)_

_PS: I was the one you saw next to this table. Don't worry too much about it, as I wasn't annoyed at you._

A person suddenly appearing and disappearing is one thing, but that same person apparently leaving a note to congratulate you is another. Jun couldn't quite grasp the meaning of this, but he hoped it wasn't some sort of creepy quasi-psychological thing. He just seemed rather uncomfortable with the whole idea.

All he had to do now was wait to be interviewed. Each contestant was given a room and a time to arrive there. The building was especially large, so he didn't have to wait long. Unfortunately, this also made it hard to navigate through, especially since he was still new around town.

As he got to his room, an older man began to talk to Jun. "Did you find it a little difficult to get here? I have to admit, only recently did I hear that this road got renamed. Did you know that they renamed it for the figure skater that won the Olympics last year? Shiratori-san, however, claimed that it should be named for her sister, who served as her inspiration to move on. Quite a heartwarming story, if you ask me."

Jun then noticed that he arrived right on time, and walked into the door, hoping for something normal after the ball of loudness that was the announcer. What he saw instead was a far cry from normal. His interviewer was wearing a large Hawaiian t-shirt with baggy jeans. He wore a huge hard hat and even larger star-shaped glasses obscured his face. The only thing that tipped Jun off about his high class status was his shoes, which were an expensive designer brand. And curiously, the seemingly eccentric man had an aura of intimidation around him, and the odd combination of the three had Jun off guard.

"Ah see you've done pretty well," the interviewer said in a heavy Kansai dialect. "Now tell me, whaddaya like about this here town? What are yer goals?"

"A-At least he's calm," Jun thought. "W-well, um, sir…"

"Mah name's Akira Tomogawa. Don't worry yer head off, jus tell me what you wanna say."

"Oh, alright. W-Well, I'm actually quite new here, so I can't really say much about this town. The river is k-kinda nice and the people here are really helpful. I don't really have enough money to keep my flower shop afloat, so I decided to enter this contest. Maybe if I join you guys, I-I can help inspire other people to reach their dreams! I want to inspire others to change for the better, and I want them to realize that nothing is 100% impossible."

Akira smiled ever so slightly. "I see. Well, it appears that you certainly have the potential, and I certainly admire your spirit. If we do accept you, you may find a letter delivered to your address. May you tell me your name for future reference?"

"Of course. My name is Jun Kashihara. Also, what happened to your accent?"

Now Tomogawa was showing a hint of nervousness, which helped clear the air a little. "Whaddaya mean? Ah never lost mah accent. You Tokyoites jus got used to it! Well, ah think it's time fer another guest, so ya ought to be leavin' now."

Jun bowed as he exited the room. "Thank you for the interview. I sincerely hope you consider me as a candidate."

Once he shut the door, Akira uttered one word to himself. "Perfect."

* * *

"Isn't today a great day?"

"Of course it is, mama! It's getting really warm now!"

"That's great, because I hate the cold."

"Come on, there's no reason to be like that. Wasn't that deep freeze a year ago a lot colder?"

"Hey, I have reasons to dislike the cold."

"And you haven't consulted me about those reasons… why?"

"Cuz I've been too busy loving you, that's why!"

"You are _so_ corny."

"Not as corny as _that_ guy, though."

"Oh right, that guy. That bad pun was probably the first time I've seen confusion that wasn't caused by a demon on your face."

"I think anybody would be confused by a demon on your face."

"What are you guys even talking about? Anyways, I'm getting hungry."

"Right. We wouldn't want our newest family members to starve, now would we?"

"Come on, I'm totally fine."

"Me too! But I want Papa to make us something good to eat when we get home!"

"And remember, you said you were gonna give us a party!"

"Alright, everyone, we're going to go to our new home soon. I'm sure you'll all love it there. It's right across the river from a really rich town, so you can enjoy the best of both worlds! First things first, let's get off of this hill. Make sure you guys don't slip! We wouldn't want anyone to go to the hospital, now would we, Maki?"

"Not very funny, Naoya. Minato, Mizuki, Mika, Rika? Try not to play around for too long or you won't be able to catch up with us!"

* * *

Weird, the original Author's Notes disappeared in a fire, so I suppose I'll have to write new ones. Well, I decided to go with the canon names of the people from the manga, and the FeMC of P3P is now Mizuki Arisato. I kinda made a ficverse-retcon so that Naoya and Maki had twins, just so it would be a weird common occurrence in the family (Yeah, Naorin and Minato are cousins here). That, and I had a bit of the manga spoiled for me by Japanese wikis (And I edited TVTropes to give mild spoilars to it).

If there's anyone alive out there, please review! See you… sometime in the future!


	3. The Undersides

Jun waited for the letter to arrive while he was tending to some of the plants. Once again, he couldn't see a single customer come through the door.

"Once I get that money, I should really buy some flyers for this place," he mused. Suddenly, he heard a chime permeate across the rather silent shop.

"Here's your mail, sir," the delivery person said.

"Alright then, I'll take that from here." Jun carefully opened the letter, finding a neatly hand-written note inside.

_Congratulations on having been chosen! We were especially impressed by your performance, and you seem to have quite the potential within you. Come to our address at 3:00 PM and we will provide all the details there. Please do not delay in carrying this out, for it is not especially wise to test our patience._

The slender brunette saw that directions to get there were at the bottom of the note, so he would have no problem getting there. Thankfully, the town wasn't as busy as one would think for a place in Tokyo. Following the road signs, he stopped at what appeared to be a gigantic mansion.

Jun was in absolute shock. "The people here must be _really_ rich! I mean, look at the size of this place! No wonder why they decided to put an academy in here..."

The gates were open, so it seemed as though they were expecting him. He tried ringing the doorbell, but there was no response. Looking to see another way to enter, he saw a note next to an electronic lock system.

_Remember the room you were assigned to?_

"Hmm... I think I remember what it was. Lemme see, it was 5...1...77. Perfect!" He pressed the enter key, prompting a short _ding! _and causing the huge doors to slowly creak open as if he were in some sort of medieval fantasy.

As the doors swung open, Jun saw something that could frankly be described as "anticlimactic." Sure the ceiling and stairwell were huge, and everything was unusually ornate, but there were barely any people around, even though it was rumoured to be bustling at nearly every hour with promising students from all across the city. The only person there was a petite young lady with small bunny hairpins accenting her bright red hair and sharp green eyes. She turned to Jun with a look of joy on her face, but that quickly turned to one of disappointment.

"She looks really cute!" Jun thought. "...Are you the only one here?" he asked.

The young lady looked at him with a hint of contempt in her eyes. "No, actually. And I assume that you're the replacement. Follow me into the office where we will discuss your plans."

The two of them walked to a small room that said "Administrative Office." She opened the door, and in a desk sat a man not much older than Jun was, in between someone who was bald and someone whose long hair was in a braid. The man in the middle had fair blonde hair at waist-length, matched with what was possibly the most ridiculous pair of eyebrows he had ever seen. They were shaped like spread wings that extended past his face. That combined with their neat suits and obviously fit physiques made the whole scene look like a message from the US President.

"Please, take a seat," the man in the center said coolly. Oddly enough, he sounded very familiar to Jun. "Would you care for a spot of tea?"

"No thanks, sir. Aren't I here to find out about the academy, anyways?"

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to have one at the moment, especially since today's weather isn't exactly all pleasant. So, how do you like our headquarters? Does it seem like the type of place you want to stay in?"

"I guess..." Jun didn't really see the point of this conversation, so he decided to clear some things up. "What are these 'details' that you wanted to talk to me about? I want to be sure that I've made the right decision."

"I suppose I should fill you in on the details, then. You see, we are currently a little short when it comes to membership..."

"I can see that, judging by how many people are here. Are you four the only members right now?"

"Not entirely, although you've got more than half our current roster in this room. The rest are at a meeting to discuss a recent turn of events. I, as the current leader, have to remain here in case something happens." He cleared his throat a little. "And to be honest, this is a different offer."

"A different offer?" Jun asked.

"Yes. You see, we saw your performance back at the Dome, and so we decided to interview you personally."

"So that's why I remember you… What was up with that accent?"

"Believe it or not, I'm actually from Kyoto. But enough about that, we have observed you and would like to consider this: you can still join the Academy if you want, but there is a way you can get more. There are significant risks, however."

"Well, what's the catch, then?"

"If you are truly dedicated to the people, then the only major risk is failure to help those in need. Otherwise, you must also promise to remain in this squad at all costs, otherwise you would violate our existing contract with the neighbouring town. Are you sure this is okay with you?"

Jun paused and thought for a moment. "Well, helping people is always a big plus, and I really do need the money, but about the no quitting part—"

"Did I forget to mention that we have free access to every spa in Tokyo?"

"Seriously? _All_ of them? If so, then I'm sold!" Jun looked at a contract that was handed to him earlier and hastily signed it.

The blonde grinned in a charming manner. "Very well. It is a pleasure to have you on our team. My name is Saionji Hayato, and the two at my side are Sugita Kenshin and Moriyama Tsuyoshi. Together, we make the "Bold" line-up for the Kouketsu no Ouendan."

Jun paused for a moment. "Wait… What? You're telling me that all these fancy deals and persuasion tactics were made so I could join _a cheer squad_."

"Not just any old cheer squad, Kashihara-kun. We are a squad with the unique ability to see spirit. You are one of the very rare people who have the potential to do so, although your potential remains dormant at the moment. As part of a deal with the Kokou no Ouendan, we have been requested to have at least 8 members in case something dangerous was to happen. Oddly enough, we've always had seven."

"Wait… If finding someone with this potential is so rare, then why do you already have seven people?"

"Because those with strong spirit tend to gather near each other, that's why. The Hanatori Union Group was formed because of this squad, you know."

"I see… Well, it's kinda awkward being told about how you have some sort of secret potential you've never heard of."

"I've had similar feelings. Now, as nobody else is here, you are hereby excused from practice for today. Please remember to come to practice on Wednesdays and Saturdays!"

As the newly appointed rookie left the room again, Sugita leaned towards the blonde, whispering in his ear.

"Don't you think he seems a little too... out of place for this squad? I mean, he just doesn't fit in thematically."

"He might not be of the same refined mould as ourselves, but he's not a complete nobody in this city. He is Junko's precious son, after all."

"Junko? You mean Junko Kurosu, that old model?"

"Precisely. And the odd name could be excused as well, considering how excited Rin seems to be about nicknaming our young florist."

"Ah, right. I forgot that he was also said to be skilled in flower language. So this is the hand that fate has given us... I apologize for not knowing of this information earlier, Saionji-san."

"It's perfectly fine, Kenshin. We are only human after all. Well, all of us except _maybe_ danchou."

Jun quietly walked across the empty halls, hoping to see the exit nearby. After a couple of minutes passing by the exact same rooms and near-identical features, he was almost about to give up on himself, until he heard that strange voice again.

"Umm, Kashihara-san! May I speak to you for a moment?"

Jun looked behind him to see a person–no, a vision of a person–still in the same odd uniform. He got a better glimpse of his face, revealing large eyes and an odd bob hairdo, kept afloat by a long headband. Oddly enough, he couldn't make out any of their colours, as everything about the mysterious person was a pale blue. On top of that, seeing him made Jun's head hurt for no apparent reason, preventing him from getting a better glimpse.

"H-hey! Are you alright there?" the person said.

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache."

The mysterious person sighed in relief. "Well, that's good. It would be pretty disastrous if you got injured on your first day, you know?"

"Thanks for worrying about me anyways." Jun rubbed his head, trying to find the exit again. "Just who are you anyways, some kind of ghost or something? If you are, then you're not scaring me!"

Now the person looked a little embarrassed. "You really are new to this town, aren't you? _Yes, _I'm a ghost. I don't exactly know how I died or how I got back here again, but it's not like I'd let something like transcending to another plane of existence stop me from doing my job!"

"So who exactly are you then?" Jun then remembered something that the girl at the entrance said to him. "Are you the guy I was said to 'replace'?"

"So, Honoka-chan really did phrase it that way... Well, you can't replace me that easily! I, eighth member of the Kouketsu no Ouendan, Kikuchi Shinta, will not allow it!"

Jun was still confused. "You're who?"

"You know, my aunt, the politician... that Kikuchi Shinta!"

"Who? Well, I think I've heard of a Kikuchi that kind of looked like you. Was she in the Ministry of Health?"

"Yeah, a lot of people say that I look like Oba-san. Even if you can't remember me, I'm still relieved that you can see me!"

"Why can't anyone see you? And for that matter, why did that guy Saionji-san say that there have always been seven members if you're saying that you're the eighth?"

"Well, that's the tricky part," Shinta said, looking rather down. "For some reason, nobody in this town can remember me except Honoka. And even she can't see me, which is pretty strange seeing as how you can. Worst of all, I can't determine my own motive for returning here, and why I have no return limit."

"... Say what again?"

"Maybe you should read 'The Lovers' Recollection: A Guide to Ghostly Motivation'. I'm not really that well-versed in why ghosts exist, anyways. But considering how ghosts are supposed to appear to people they're connected to, and I can only appear to you, I'm thinking that means I have to train you! But first, you're going to need to get prepared and move in!"

"What? But I thought I was going to stay in my own house!"

"Well, since you're pretty much a trainee right now, sometimes you'll have these coping exercises where you'll live with us for a while. Don't worry about beds and stuff because we've got that covered too. That, and with some of the training you're going to do, you might not even be _able_ to walk back to your house."

Now Jun was getting even more wary about the job he was pretty much forced into. "And you're sure I can't back out?"

"Well, not until we've seen your skills after a month. If you happen to be really good by the time you're evaluated, you become a permanent member, and only leave when there's a large shift of events. If you don't meet the standard requirements by the time your training is done, you may choose to quit if you want to. I had no such intentions, so I decided to become a full-time member."

"That sounds okay, then. I'll even try helping you out of that return motive thing! Anything else I need to know before I go?"

Shinta smiled before stopping at a large door. "Don't get too close to sempai."

"W-What's that supposed to mean?" Jun asked nervously before hearing the rev of an engine. He turned around and thought to himself, "A motorcycle? That must mean I'm close to the exit... Thanks–"

Then he saw that Shinta was wielding a chainsaw, still smiling.

"So _that's_ what you mean. Well, I'll be off before you try and slice my head off. Don't worry, I'm not really all that into him anyways!"

"{Okay, bye-bye!}"

_And that's how Jun ended up helping a ghost._

* * *

I did it! I finished the into and stuff! Of course, now I need to actually sort out a _plot_... I really should stop posting multiple-chapter things if I'm not going to finish them.

I retconned some things in the earlier chapters (Continuity errors, my ignorance on how Japanese addresses work... It might still be wrong though)

The curly braces indicate some Engrish is being spoken. Considering how my headcanon dictates that everyone in the Kouketsu is part-foreign save Moriyama and _maybe just maybe_ Kaoru... Other random languages (Like the ones Aoi might know) don't need to be curlied.

Also, it might be good to know that the next chapters will probably focus on Mizuki now, and her interactions with her oddball family and the oddball neighbors they live right across from... And it'll probably involve Anna too, so stick for that, whoever is bothering to read!

* * *

And now I rewrote part of the story. I wanted to make the interactions between the characters more solid, and I wanted there to be a better way to have Jun stay in the squad, along with more plot hole fixing. (Although "free spa!" isn't that great an incentive, but _whatever_.) I've also been thinking of ways to get that VN/RPG done, as well as other random projects I want to do. (Yes, these notes are in anachronistic order, so maybe I might refer to things in later notes.)

-An April Fools type of thing where everyone has random dialogue. (Wants references to Phoenix Drive and Regular Ordinary Swedish Meal Time)

-Seven deadly weapons. But they'd look so adorable!

-Parts of it may be made using different game engines, for somewhat spoilery reasons. (I have ideas in anachronistic order too, so I have trouble putting them down on paper. I may want to make a TVTropes page for this to make things easier for myself, and not just because I want to stroke my ego.)

Random projects, not in thinking up order:

-Finish the damn crossover trailer I had.

-Cross Channel/P3 fusion fic. Both MC and FeMC would be involved in CC, although P3 has a shortage of girls. (Maybe add some from the FeMC's route, I guess? That could work)

-Cross Channel fic with what happened to everyone in the future. Would have different times from a short while after the epilogue to way into adulthood.

-P3 fic with Minato getting hurled into an alternate universe where Tartarus never formed or anything like that. Would notably feature bishie!Shinji and some other stuff I forgot.

And lastly, I just had a cool alternate name for Mizuki. _Minazuki Alice_. And the Kira Kira games on DS (I have officially beaten both on Normal) have given me a partial obsession with Pinky dolls. Does anyone know the dolls those customs were made of? You know, the ones of Shinta and Starr?


	4. Mizuki Arisato

Although this disclaimer is completely unnecessary, I feel that I have to remind people that neither of these franchises are mine. However, I do own the _personalities_ of half the characters, meaning I could turn this into original fiction if I felt particularly original, which I'm not.

* * *

Naoya went in and turned on the light in the living room.

"The house is so nice!" Rika exclaimed.

"Well, this is where you're staying, Mizuki. It's closer to my office than our old place, and it's a lot bigger too," he said optimistically.

"So, isn't school starting soon?" Mizuki asked as they settled in the living room. "I mean, Minato and I have to go somewhere, and I need a little brushing up on my Japanese."

"We've already got the whole thing planned. Since Minato already did his exams for another school, and there are no co-ed schools in here for some reason, he'll be going there, while you're going to go to an all-girls school nearby."

Mizuki was mortified at the thought. "An all-girls school? B-but I how am I going to learn about the ins and outs of romance? And the uniforms are—they're—"

"The uniforms are _blue_, I know. But it looks great, and a lot of the girls there are pretty outgoing. And don't worry too much about the romance stuff anyways; I'll probably reject him the first time we meet."

The spunky redhead sighed in disbelief. "Double standard, much? And I still need to know about brushing up on Japanese, along with my... accent problem."

Maki stepped up to say something. "It's not like we're allowing Minato to date anyone unreasonable either. And I don't really notice an accent, but we did already hire a tutor. Don't just think of it as something for one subject: there's going to be a lot of hard work involved now, both of you."

Right after she spoke, the doorbell rang. "Hey, it must be her!" Mika said.

"Alright, I'll be right there," Naoya said as he raced to the door.

"I don't really have high expectations in the looks department," Minato said.

Maki scolded him for what he just said. "Now, you can't be sure until you've seen her. Besides, looks aren't everything."

Meanwhile, Naoya came back to the living room. "Guys, I'd like to introduce you to your tutor. This is Anna Lindhurst. Don't let looks fool you, she's pretty knowledgeable. Anna, these two are my cousins, Minato and Mizuki. On the other side is my wife Maki and my daughters Yumika and Erika, but we all call them Mika and Rika for short."

The twins were pretty shocked at what they saw. Their new tutor had wavy blonde hair full of volume, and alluring curves from her hips to the plumpness of her lips. Her cleavage-revealing top wasn't exactly helping matters either.

"I can say she's definitely pretty," Minato said.

"Thank you," Anna said, taking a seat in an empty chair. "I hope we get along well."

Naoya gestured over to the kitchen. "Now then, how about we have dinner? After that, we can start up our weekly fighting game tournament!"

Mixuki leapt up from her seat. "All right! Loser has to clean all the dishes!"

Minato shrugged. "I'll probably win anyways."

Anna chuckled. "How about I join in too?"

Now Naoya was pointing his finger towards the sky like a referee. "It's settled then! We'll all verse each other once. Whoever has the most losses has to clean the dishes and massage the winner's back!"

During dinner, Maki decided to ask a question. "Did you hear? Elly called and said she's coming to visit tomorrow!"

Mika and Rika jumped from their seats. "Auntie Elly?"

"Seriously?" Naoya asked. "I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Elly? Don't you mean…?" Anna asked.

"Yep. Eriko Kirishima is coming to Yuuhi-cho."

"E-Eriko Kirishima? As in the model? You were actually friends with her?"

"That's the St. Hermelin's alumni for you. We were just classmates at first, but come stuff happened at our school one day and we somehow ended up being really close. I heard she wanted to visit because of all the weird rumours about this place. Oni, werewolves, haunted houses..."

Anna tilted her head slightly. "Haunted houses? Where did she hear that from?"

Naoya flicked his bangs over to the side and spoke in a deeper voice. "You see, we all heard the rumour from Nanjo a while ago. Apparently, he was at one of those fancy rich people parties in the town across from us. From what I heard, it all went great until he saw someone hiding behind a wall. After he excused himself from his current conversation, he tried to look around the spot where he saw the person, but he couldn't even find a trace."

Anna seemed quite intrigued. "Why couldn't it have been a ninja? If that Nanjo guy is from one of those ultra-rich groups, then it's perfectly understandable. If he went to that party from a few weeks ago, then he must have met Saionji. The Amemiya clan live in this city, and have a bit of rivalry with him. Therefore, there's a possibility that that person was a ninja sent to assassinate Saionji!"

"Umm, that could be a possibility, I suppose."

"Precisely! Besides, even in this close-knit community I can't think of anyone that died recently."

After everyone finished their meal, the family and Anna went to the living room and decided on what to play.

Anna spoke immediately. "I vote on Smash Bros. X."

"But why?" Mizuki asked.

"It's perfect for four people," the American said in her matter-of-fact tone, "and it's practically a tradition, anyways."

They started the match, resulting in a heated battle between Marth, Ike, Samus and Pikachu. Marth and Ike tried to corner the other two, while Samus tried playing defensively in order to stall time. Pikachu decided that attacking quickly was the best tactic, and so he spammed Thunderbolt as many times as possible.

"Oh, you cheap—!" the twins said in unison.

"Looks like it's just you and me, then," Anna said confidently. "Is that really the best you've got?"

"Don't underestimate the power of God Hand Toudou," Naoya replied. "And I never said I wasn't going easy on you."

Suddenly, it felt as though the person Anna was playing against was a completely different being, his eyes changing to a look of determination. His timing suddenly became much sharper as he tried to take advantage of the terrain this time.

Anna smiled faintly. "If that's how you want to play it… Ikuwayo."

Not a second later, they began pressing buttons at inhuman speeds, attacking and blocking with intense precision. This continued for at least another two minutes until they finally entered sudden death. A well-aimed pistol shot fired the poor Pikachu out of the screen, proclaiming Samus to be the winner.

Naoya slumped down in defeat. "I lost…"

"Either way, you're not supposed to have a guest do cleaning," Maki said, shaking her head.

"I never knew she wanted to join in the first place! Besides, Minato got last place, so he's the one doing all the dishes."

Anna chuckled. "Well, it seems rather late now, so I should be going." She took her things and left for the door, only stopping when she noticed something peculiar about the head of the house.

"I didn't think you were the type to have a piercing hole," she said.

Naoya smirked. "Maybe I was."

* * *

After dishes were done and minor arguments were settled, the family members went to their respective rooms.

"Nii-san," Minato said, "Can I go out for a while? I don't really feel sleepy right now."

"Just come back before 11, okay?" Naoya replied. "If not..:"

"I know, you'll hunt me down with an SMG and drag me here by force. This isn't the first time you've said it."

As Minato left with an odd half-smile on his face, Naoya decided to check up on the little twins.

"Papa! Read us a story!" Mika yelled.

"Sure, what would you two like this time?"

"Hmm…" Mika thought, "I wanna hear the Snow Queen story again! Your Snow Queen story!"

Rika backed her up. "We haven't heard it in a long while!"

"Alright then." He got a small, dark, leather-bound picture book from the shelf and began to read.

_A long time ago, long before you were born, there was a young boy. This boy was bored, and wanted to have an adventure. One day, he heard a tale of a cursed mask hidden within the school. Seeing this as a way to make life more interesting, he went and searched all over the school for the mask, until he found it lying in an abandoned storage room. He went out into the yard, only to be greeted by his teacher. She put the mask on, transforming into the terrifying Snow Queen!_

Mizuki happened to pass by the twins' room, and decided to listen in on what Naoya was telling them.

_The whole school became an ice palace, and the Snow Queen threatened to make the entire world that way if he didn't free the teacher from the Queen's control. So he went and gathered his classmates to fight her, but she was frozen in place and the mask still wouldn't come off! They were about to give up, until a mysterious masked man came and told them what to do. They were told to defeat the three guardians of the school before time ran out, all of them under the Snow Queen's power. They also had to get the pieces of a magic mirror to free their teacher from the mask. To do so, they were given the power of "Persona", a power that let them use their selves to fight. So they went off to fight the three guardians, defeating all the monsters in their way__…_

The redhead seemed rather hooked by this part, and tried to lean in closer to the door.

_They were at the entrance of the first tower, the tower of Hypnos. Inside was a girl who forced everyone inside to live inside their dreams forever as she did thanks to the Snow Queen. That wasn't right, so they tried to convince her while freeing the people trapped inside. The girl saw that she was running away from her problems, and accepted what the group said to her. To thank them, she gave the team some mirror shards._

_Inside the second tower, Nemesis, they met its guardian very quickly. She was a mean-spirited girl who hurt others while making herself look good. She removed the time limit on the tower, but gave the heroes a choice: quickly save their hurt friends by getting to the guardian first, or getting the mirror shard on the other end of the dungeon? The boy knew that saving his friends was more important, and they probably didn't even need all the shards. Unlike the last girl, the guardian of Nemesis Tower was stubborn and wouldn't see the error of her ways._

_The last tower was Thanatos, and a difficult one. The guardian of this tower challenged the team by taking away the boy's Persona, meaning he couldn't fight or he'd die! So the group went to Tartarus, where they'd get his Persona back, then went to find all the mirror shards in the tower. When they got to the top, the guardian greeted them by asking if they wanted to die so they could be young forever. The group knew to look forward to the future, and so they fought her, trying to make her see how bright the future was. After, she felt sad knowing that she left her friends and family behind, and thanked the group for helping her see._

_The boy and his newfound friends now went to fight the Snow Queen, who then summoned the Night Queen. As the Night Queen would bring the end of the world, the boy's friends went across the whole school to find her. After a long fight, they were able to stop the Night Queen, and everyone realized how strong they really were._

Naoya looked up and saw that Mika and Rika were now fast asleep, snuggling with their favourite teddy bear. What he didn't see was Mizuki sleeping right outside his door, snug in her pyjamas.

"Good night to you both," he said quietly.

* * *

Wow, what a case of schedule slip. I don't even think anyone is reading this. (Seriously, who looks at the crossover section anyways?) And while this wasn't a totally unexpected crossover (Persona? In my cheering rhythm action game series? It's more likely than you think,) it's not focused on the newer games, so no fanbase for me!

Why has there been some schedule slip? Main reasons:

- I have terrible working habits. I'm barely keeping up with schoolwork as it is. -_-"

- I don't have much faith in my abilities. I hated the last chapter, so it took me a while to get myself back into writing, even for the beginning of a new arc.

- I was also planning to change mediums into either an RPG or a visual novel. I did at least dig up some old sprites from when I wanted to make an RPG of Dan-su (Which I discontinued due to suckiness. I still keep it around as a reminder to avoid the pitfalls I fell into when I wrote it.) And my rather odd unfinished RPG, which I never got past finishing the second town.

- Recently got into (and finished) some stuff. Cross Channel and Battle Royale stand out in particular, though I've also been playing Trauma Center and Kira Kira Pop Princess. (That last one stood out, I know. I really can't resist cuteness.)

So if there is anyone alive out there, please review this. I know it's not that great, (Chapter 3 sticks out in my mind the most, but I'm too prideful to edit it to make more sense,) but I promise it will get better. I even got OC profiles to help me keep in check for the next few chapters!

*Also, Naoya is a terrible storywriter. He is, however a good foreshadower.


	5. Amada Mio, Amore Mia

The next day, Mizuki was at the foot of her brand new school, complete with blue winter uniform. She personally had no problem with the colour blue; she just hated saying it in Japanese.

"Hmm, I wonder who I'll meet in this school. Obviously not romantic options, unless I turn lesbian."

She looked around to see if there was anybody remotely interesting in the premises. She was hoping to meet people who were like her friends back home.

"{Lemme see, there was Ota-kun, the guy who always had some awesome idea involving ninja monkeys and Gundams, Madrid, my ridiculously snarky straight lady, Nick, the person everybody hates, my British buddy Miso Soup, guardian of squirrel-unicorn hybrids everywhere, and my bestest buddy of all, Person Whose Name I Can't Pronounce Because It Is In Mandarin Chinese.}" Mizuki sighed, knowing she would never meet anybody else quite like them. It was then she felt a hard pat on her back.

"Hey, why the long face? We're all new here, you know."

She turned her back to see a slightly taller girl with a huge ponytail and loose socks. She also wore a bit more makeup and had a shorter skirt than the norm, begging Mizuki to ask her a question.

"Are you one of those kogals?"

The girl's eyes narrowed when she said that. "Not really, I just like to look like this. You don't have to be so blunt about it. You really are from out of here, aren't you?"

"You heard me in English, didn't you?"

"Well, I was right behind you for the last minute or so, so yeah. The name's Amada Mio. Call me Mio, or Mio-chan if you like."

"What about Micchi? I personally think it's a lot cuter."

"Eh… No. I don't like it at all. So what's your name, mysterious American?"

"Arisato Mizuki. And I'm not actually—"

Mio proceeded to give an even harder pat on Mizuki's back. "Cool name! So, what are you doing around here?"

"I-I had to live back here with my cousin after my aunt fell ill."

"What about your parents? Unless…"

The two girls could feel the air around them thicken as awkward silence followed. Mio looked down at the ground. "…Sorry. If you don't want to talk about it, then…"

Mizuki looked up to her face and smiled. "It's okay. It happened a long time ago, so I barely remember it anyways."

Just then, the school bell rang, prompting the two girls to get inside the building. They checked the bulletin board for which class they were going to. Both girls found they were in class 2-E, so they went together. Luckily, there were two vacant seats right next to each other, so they sat there.

A few minutes later, a lady in her 20s rushed in, panting as if she just ran a long distance. "I'm so sorry I'm late! Ah, it's good to see you're all seated nice and quietly. I'll be your homeroom teacher for this year." The young teacher stopped to catch her breath before continuing. "My name is Manabi Mikan, and I'm also the classic literature teacher. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Mio whispered into Mizuki's ear. "She seems a little… scrambled, don'tcha think?"

"You can say that again," she replied giggling.

"P-Please be quiet!" Manabi-sensei yelled. "Now, I'll be handing you these books…"

* * *

During lunch, Mizuki saw another girl come to her desk. She appeared to be wearing the PE uniform, and her hair was in fluffy twintails. Judging by her more mature physique, she could only guess that the other girl was a senior.

"Heey, you two look pretty promising for first-years." she said. "Yamada Maya, third year, captain of the Swim Team and Student Council member."

"Sounds pretty hard," Mizuki replied.

"I was really just roped in Student Council for an emotional boost. I just wanted to ask if any of you would like to join the Swim Team. We're open next week, so meet us by the pool!" The girl ran off as quickly as she came, looking like a marathon runner in her first stretch.

"We're pretty lucky," Mio said confidently.

"Why's that?" Mizuki asked.

"Basically, we've gotten the favour of one of the most popular girls in school. The other one is Tanaka Mari, the Student Council president. If we join both the Swim Team and Student Council, we'll probably gain that same popularity in no time!"

"And how are you so sure about that?"

Mio wrapped her arm around Mizuki, taking her by surprise. "Those two don't greet just anyone, you know. So long as we don't get into any trouble, this year will be a blast!"

"And how do you know all this stuff anyways?"

Mio smirked. "My big sis used to go to this school. Those two were popular right from the first year there. Maybe because Mari-san…"

"What about Mari-san?"

"Eeh, you'll figure it out eventually."

"Whatever you say…" Mizuki said, slurping the last bit of her milk.

* * *

After school, the two girls found themselves being approached by a girl with short hair and bangs. She seemed to be a bit older than them.

"Hey there, Micchi. I see you've made a new friend." Her smile seemed pretty sincere, but Mizuki could feel some tension between the two.

"Keiko-san… So how have you been doing? I never thought I'd…"

"Father said I should go to school here." She turned to Mizuki. "Have you told her yet? I'm sure it would make for a rather interesting story."

Mio clenched her fist, looking as if she was about to cry. "No. Especially not after I told you. Didn't you say that you were going to cut off all ties with me?"

Keiko clasped her hands together. "But it's been such a long time since then. If you still feel that way, then I suppose I'll leave you alone for now." She walked away, small bag in hand.

"Who was that?" Mizuki asked.

"Not a friend, at least not now." She looked down again. "Mizuki, I have one thing to ask of you."

"What is it?"

"No matter what, please, just please… don't betray me."

* * *

You know, I would never have expected Green Road's original name to be Megu Road in the Pinky:st games (I played the localized versions, sue me.). Considering how my headcanon also dictates that Yuuhi and Asahi are Meguro, I never would have expected it. Asahi maybe, but Yuuhi? Hell no. Now these rants may contain info about things I may shout out to in the future. I'm just like that. No other full crossovers, though, except maybe one. You may not guess what it is, though!

This chapter is a bit shorter than the others, I have to admit. I suppose this cliffhanger will do, though.

(Also, I just shouted out to a few people I know. They hopefully aren't reading this, though. Or hopefully not, I'm fickle like that.)

I may just be returning to the Jun arc. Hope I actually become productive in the future! Give me motivation! Please review!


	6. The Orientation

Kashihara Jun was sleeping in bed, tired after suddenly seeing a new wave of customers. That night, he has a strange dream. He seems surrounded, and the entire place seems to be on fire. For some reason however, the entire scene seems oddly familiar…

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, and I sincerely wish that you had a nice rest, but _please wake up_!"

Jun fell out of his bed, scrambling to get up. He turned to see Shinta looking at him with a worried look on his face.

"W-what are you doing here? I thought all that stuff about cheerleading ghosts was all a dream too!"

"No… Anyways, you have to get there soon, or certain people may get impatient." He gave his hand to Jun, but quickly pulled it back. "A-anyways, just try and change for now. We'll be giving you your uniform on the boat."

Before Jun could ask "Boat? What boat?" he went and got into a new set of clothes. He was still a little afraid of asking questions after that last incident.

While walking along the Yuuhi River, Jun decided to set some things straight.

"So, how's this whole thing work, anyways? Do you just go out one team at a time or something?"

"Actually, the whole squad goes out on one mission. It makes the whole thing a lot easier to do, and there's less chance of failure. That's why we need to have exactly eight members cheering."

"But… how? I mean, it shouldn't be that hard without one person, right?"

"I don't know all the specifics, but I heard that it does get a lot harder with fewer members. Too many people could disrupt our targets though, so eight is a good number."

Jun nodded, signalling that he understood. "And about the squad in Yuuhi, are they like you guys?"

"Well, if you get down to the basics, then pretty much," Shinta said, laughing a little. "But they're a lot more traditionally Japanese, while we have more of a… _western flair_, don't you think?"

"I never knew that this type of thing could actually be westernized."

"It's been done before." The former rookie stopped for a while before speaking again. "Now that you've asked me all your questions, it's time for me to ask you something as well." He paused as if to get the words just right. "Well, why do you seem like you don't want to be here, yet you've signed the contract and you're still going to practice? I mean, we could have found someone else if it didn't really suit you."

Jun thought about it for a while. It was mainly a move just to see how far he could go, what would happen if he took a big risk such as that, even if he didn't come fully prepared. Actually, something interesting like this was a bit of a pick-me-up for him, seeing as how the days before were relatively dull compared to back in Sumaru.

"Well, I don't have a lot to lose, do I? After all, it pays well, and the whole process doesn't sound too hard. I have been in a delinquent's school, after all."

The brunette sighed. "If you say so, then."

* * *

The two finally arrived where the boat was parked—a rather fine yacht, just enough for the estimated amount of people there. It was gleaming white in the sunny morning, with its gold accents further brightening the scenery of cherry blossoms along the river.

As Jun entered the boat, he was greeted by an unfamiliar face in a red cheerleader outfit, with her bright pink hair in a swept up fringe. Interestingly enough, Jun could swear that her eyes were golden.

"Hello there! Are you the new recruit I've been hearing about? My name is Shirosaki Rin, and it's a pleasure to meet you." She held her hand out to the recruit, and Jun shook it in response. Her grip was unexpectedly firm, but it went with the confident look on her face.

Rin's expression quickly turned serious again. "Unfortunately, you're late, and everyone's been waiting for you. I'll have to subtract points for that. Don't worry though; you're still pretty high up for now. First impressions can really help in this sort of situation!" The pink-haired girl then went downstairs with a bit of a spring in her step.

"So she's…"

Shinta smiled. "Leader of the cheergirls of Asahi-cho, Shirosaki Rin. A great leader and a notable philanthropist, albeit a little idiosyncratic. Approach romantically with caution." He signalled to Jun to follow Rin downstairs. "I think we should go down soon. After all, I don't want to keep them waiting any longer."

Jun went downstairs and saw a room with a large table in the center of it. Seated there were seven other people, two of them Jun had never seen before. He had remembered one of the girls next to Rin from last time, her strawberry hair now in twintails. The person Jun was focusing on, however, was the man who seemed to be the most important in the room. He was a lot larger in stature than the other guys in the room, and had a uniform cape that nobody else had. His hair was apparently in the style and colour of a judge's wig, and his eyebrows were almost as large as Hayato's.

"State your name," he said.

Jun froze in place. "Kashihara Jun… sir."

"And your purpose for being here?"

"Well… I'm quite interested in the prospect of you guys having the ability to see spirit and helping others because of it. I believe that anything a person can do to help should be done, so…"

"And what is your main aspiration in life?"

"I think… it's that I can live a good life with nothing I can truly regret."

"Good. That's all for your questioning," the man said. "I am Kiryuuin Kaoru, president of this group. Your uniform is in the bedroom to the right. Further details will be disclosed to you after."

When he got inside the spacious bedroom, he found a uniform lying on a chair by the nightstand. It was a simple blue gakuran, with a blouse, pants and a jacket with yellow accents. On the left sleeve of the jacket was a white armband with the team's logo on it.

Changing into his new outfit, Jun began to think about what he was wearing. "Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of my old Kasu High uniform… But what does this logo stand for anyways? Eikoku… no… Ouendan? I might not want to jump to conclusions."

When he was finished, he was greeted by the three girls at the meeting, including the one he had never met before. "Well, don't you look like quite the gentleman now!" Rin said, clipboard now in hand.

"You know, I may be getting second thoughts about you," the rabbit girl said. Upon closer inspection, Jun could see that there was a rabbit attached to her frilly red skirt.

"He still seems more like a backup to me, though," the unfamiliar girl added. She had a rather refined look to her, with her taller figure, pink glasses and wavy blue hair put in tight ringlets. She somewhat reminded him of that celebrity he'd often heard of, Hanasono Ageha.

"So, Honoka, Reika? What do you think we should rank our rookie for now?"

The two took turns, starting with the taller girl. "Name? {B-Rank}."

"Confidence? {B-Rank}."

"Appearance? {B-Rank}."

"First impressions? {D-Rank}."

Rin frowned a little when she heard this. "Honoka-chan…"

"You're the one compiling all the data. This is just my personal opinion on the fact."

"But we shouldn't let personal issues get in the way of things sometimes," Rin replied; now a little annoyed. "I don't know why you've been so sour recently, but I almost let the entire squad down the last time it happened." She sighed. "On the other hand, you are right. I can change the data according to what I see fit, anyways."

She finished writing down some additional details, muttering to herself just barely audibly. "His potential is almost an {S-Rank}, but his actual ability is unknown… I'll leave the overall rank at an A for now." She put the clipboard on the now empty table. "Now you actually have to go for training. Now if you'll follow me, we're going to be at our destination soon."

He hadn't noticed it, but the boat had apparently been moving for a while now. He went up to the deck and saw that the upscale town of Asahi-cho was but a line on the horizon now.

When Jun saw that he was alone, he then said to Shinta, "So that's Honoka…"

"Yep. She's normally a lot friendlier, though. It's probably because she…" He seemed to be a little deep in thought, his hair and headband blowing against the wind. "Kashihara-san, maybe you could try and comfort her. After all, it would probably help the both of us in the long run."

And just as he said that, he saw Honoka walk up the stairs.

"Hey, Honoka-san…"

"Yes?" she replied bluntly.

"I can tell that you're not really comfortable with me being here. Is it…" he tried to find the right way to deliver the message. "Does it have anything to do with Kikuchi Shinta?"

Her expression froze. She was trying to comprehend what was just being said, and how it contradicted with what she had understood so far. "H-how do you know about him?"

"I was able to communicate with him and—"

"But then why? Why would everyone else go about and pretend as if he never existed? If this is some sort of joke," she said, her eyes watering, "_then it's not funny at all_!"

Jun tried to get closer and comfort her. "H-Honoka-san, please don't cry! I'll explain everything to you."

* * *

After explaining to Honoka what had happened, she started wiping the tears from her face. "So how can I know that I can trust you? That you aren't trying to make me cry even more?"

"Trust me; I would never forgive myself if I were."

She smiled. "Then I think I should apologize. If it's alright, then we should start over from a blank slate, no misunderstandings this time." She stuck her pinky out. "Let's promise to find the bottom of this mystery together."

Jun did the same, despite not expecting such a childish gesture. "It's a promise, then."

* * *

_AngelElly has logged on_

375: Yo whats up elly

AngelElly: Nothing much. Just visiting a few friends in Yuuhi tomorrow.

375: Cool. I actually live over there so I can give you a few pointers.

AngelElly: Like what?

375: This is an occult chatroom rite

375: I can tell you about seven weird rumors Ive heard since I moved here

375: For example theres a radio station that sounds like crying on 108.4

375: And that huge robot statue sometimes moves on its own

375: And the fountain near the river? sometimes people see it light on fire

375: That lady who runs the accessory store may be dead

375: And those guys at oni island my actually be real oni (lol)

AngelElly: Those almost seem like practical jokes…

AngelElly: Then again, I've seen odder things out there.

375: Oh yea the two recent ones ive heard are a bit different from the rest

AngelElly: How so?

375: The first one is a mail charm or something

375: At 1 am, a mail will come with no sender or subject. it contains secrets and a link

375: Click on it and it apparently makes a wish of yours come true. how I have no idea

375: Thing is, Ive heard people say that the people who clicked on the link change completely but disappear without a trace the next day

AngelElly: The first part sounds awfully familiar for some reason.

375: JOKER cases?

AngelElly: Funny you would mention those. I heard Maya published her article from Brussels recently. It must have been funny seeing the Manneken Pis shoot lasers.

375: The last thing I heard was about some mysterious deaths

375: Two bodies, both guys in their 20s or so

375: Other than that, nobody can identify who they are. closest thing the police got were a horribly battered id on one of them

375: Theres obviously some sort of connection between the two, but there arent much leads for people to go by

375: The way they were killed was totally different and it may not have been the same weapon

375: Well, its probably not much to worry about. after all, the legendary elly should be on the case now~

AngelElly: I'm flattered~ but you shouldn't give me too much credit.

375: Well its been fun talking to you but I have work to do soon (ohgod) so bye for now. hope the info helped your search

_375 has logged off_

The girl who was at her computer now went to check if all her things were packed , smiling. "So it wasn't just a hunch… It may be the other reason why he moved there… Naoya…"

* * *

New Chapter, baby! On a good note, I think I've finally got characterization into a non-Newtonian fluid state, at least. If I hammer it often enough, it should manage to stay solid. Also, any thoughts as to songs I should use? I have a few, but they may not work so well. On the other hand, one such song will probably appear in the next chapter. See you next week! (Or whenever I bother to update. Either way, review so I don't feel so lonely. EOA is practically a graveyard and I'm staunchly net-reclusive.)

Other random news:

Tanaka Maya (Aoi's seiyuu for those not in the know,) is apparently a fan of deconstructions, like NGE and Madoka.

New part added! Just random expo on my part, but now stuff should be more solid.

Managed to finish Madoka (So... different. And disturbingly/heartwarmingly happy.) and Audition (_kiiiri kiri kiri kiri..._ It took me _three tries_ just to get through all of the last bit.)

The handle names are just coincidences. Just because 375 can be read as _Minako_ doesn't mean it's Mizuki.

Also some explanation on the Brussels thing: I thought that in one part of SSA, Maya Amano was in one of the cutscenes. "So why not," I thought. The continuity was worth a shot.

For the person I forced to read this: _thaaaat._


	7. The Introduction

"Hey you two," Rin said as she entered the deck, "Time for us to get off soon." Jun could now see that they were approaching a small, rocky island with a waterfall.

He tried asking her a question. "So, Shirosaki-san…"

"You can call me Rin, or Rin-Rin if it's nothing too professional."

"So Rin, what is it about this 'potential' you guys keep talking about? And how am I so special compared to other people in this department, anyways?"

"Let's see…" Rin took a deep breath, as if she were trying to meditate. "All people in this world are born with potential. It is not only the ability to see spirit, but to manipulate it as well. You see, so long as you have a soul, you can manipulate the souls of others. We are those who have dedicated themselves to awakening this potential to better service others, using eastern methods and western philosophy to achieve it. You just happen to have a higher potential than others. Your spirit is awfully high, and yet… somewhat unstable. Due to the unusual nature of your spirit, we have decided that you were one of the best candidates currently available."

When she finished, the three on the deck could hear Sugita's voice from the inside of the ship. "We have just landed on the island."

Rin smiled. "Now let's get going, Jun-Jun," she said.

At the island, the squad members were all in a formation with the cheergirls in the very back, followed by the backups and Jun, and Hayato was up front and center. Kaoru faced them as an instructor would.

"As we all know, we now have a new member in the ranks of our squad. Fortunately, we have been able to manage with only seven members, but a proper balance is necessary so there is less chance of fatigue. The best way to master an art is to ease into it, so for today we will focus on mind training. Physical training will come much later for you, but first we will see if your spirit is up to standard."

"Don't worry about it, I'm still here for you," Shinta said.

"First things first, though." Hayato said turning to Jun. "We may need to explain the exercise as for you not to panic. Not everyone was born with steeled nerves, after all. Now follow us and we'll tell you what's going to happen."

* * *

The squad got to the center of the island, on a small hill with a relatively flat top.

Hayato decided to tell Jun what to do. "Now, you can see that I have a cage right beside me. This cage contains a cat. Your job is to catch it." Before Jun could speak, Hayato added, "And you have to do it blindfolded."

The confused rookie was handed a blindfold by Moriyama, and he quickly put it on. He then heard Hayato's voice again. "Now then, let's begin your training."

Jun heard the sound of something sliding open. Next thing he knew, he heard a meow from behind him. He slowly walked over to where he heard the sound, only to trip on a rock.

"You can do it, Jun-chan!" Honoka yelled from the sidelines.

He heard another meow, this time from the side. He started to chase the sound until he felt like he was at an angle.

"Out of range," Hayato said. "It'll only run on the flat part, we'd know."

Jun kept on chasing the source of the sound, always getting some sort of notice that he wasn't even close.

"And did we mention that the cat can throw its voice?" Rin added.

"You could have told me that earlier!" Jun thought. "How am I supposed to catch a cat blindfolded if I can't even hear where it is? And why does it smell like ramen in here?"

"She's from the ramen store," he heard a voice say. "And you should probably stay still first; it'll help you to focus."

"Kikuchi-san!" Jun said quietly. "You can read my thoughts?"

"No, you just yelled out loud."

Jun felt rather flustered and almost tripped as a result. "Well, what do I focus on? If this is the easy training, then I'm pretty scared of what the later months will be like…"

"I'll try to help you a bit here, but you're going to need to find the cat yourself, alright?"

Jun nodded, and waited for some instructions.

"First things first: _try to focus on everything, but don't focus on anything in particular_."

How was he supposed to do that? He tried to clear his mind a little, and focus on his surroundings. He took in the general environment, minus sight, and could faintly sense… things around him. But just when he was able to grasp the positions of people, the sense quickly faded away. Trying to focus a bit more, he slowly went towards what he perceived was the smallest body and slowly tried to reach out for it.

"_Gotcha_."

* * *

"Hey, are you coming with us?" a chubby kid asked.

-Hanada Sho, age 14-

"Sorry, I have to do some extra stuff today."

He went inside the now empty classroom, with only him and the teacher remaining.

"Sho," he said sternly.

"Yes, sensei?"

"Your grades recently are… How do I say this… _pitiful? _Well, I think that you could do a lot more to improve your grades. I'll tutor you if you can prove something to me."

"What is it?"

"Determination. Like what your brother had, but more. You will have to do various tasks while taking my supplementary lessons. If you get 100 questions right on your test, I will pass you. If you don't, then…"

"Consider your chances at a future minimal."

Sho was backed into a wall. He didn't want to fail and disappoint his parents, but his teacher was known to be downright cruel in his lessons. His only solace was that his brother was able to get through him, but…

"O…"

"O…"

"…"

"_Ouendaaan!_"

* * *

"Is that our cue?" Jun asked, hearing the faint yell in the distance.

"One other thing we forgot to mention." Hayato said. "We only cheer on this side of the river. Across the river is Yuuhi-cho, and therefore under the control of their squad."

Jun thought a little. Looking at another squad might help him later on. "Is it okay if I can see them in action?"

"Of course. It won't take too long to get to the location, and you have proven yourself for today. Let us travel onward back to the Yuuhi River."

At the Hanada residence, Sho's parents were watching a manzai routine in the same living room they always watched TV on. A guitar line springs up as a door slides open.

"_Osu!_"

— _A Student's Way To Success! Work Hard and Follow the Older Brother's Footsteps!_—

Sho's teacher was in his room, pointing to a stack of papers on his desk. "First, study all the supplementary material!"

"Yes, sensei!"

"_Ikuze! San, ni, ichi, sore!_"

* * *

_Minareta machinami itsumo no nakama ga  
Hanareteku nante tabidatte yuku nante  
Jibun wo sagashite kodoku ni obiete  
Tomo ni sugoshita saikou no taikutsu na hibi_

"Why do I hear the sound of laughter?" the teacher asked.

"It must be my parents again…" Sho thought.

"Ahaha, our son is at it again!"

"He's just like his brother, isn't he?"

"At least he tries hard. I'm sure he'll make it!"

"It seems you have your parents' support as well," the teacher said.

"I'm thankful!" Sho replied.

"Well, now you should try and pass the physical part of the training. Study these first."

_Owatta hazu no yume ga mada bokura no senaka ni  
Semaru kizamareta omoide ga sawagidasu  
Kagirareta ai to jikan wo ryoute ni dakishimeru  
Semete kyou dake wa kienaide_

"Do you think you've got the fundamentals down? Then answer this sheet while crossing this beam!"

"D-Do I really have to?"

"YES! Walk and write!"

Sho carefully treaded on the beam, writing as many answers down as he could.

"… Record time. With an 80% mark, too."

"Hey, maybe I can get through this!"

"Well, now's a good time for a mock test. You have 30 minutes to study."

_Madamada da ore ga tomaru tokoro ja nai kara  
Asahaka na aoi omoi wo daite ita no ka_

_Ugokihajimeta ressha no naka ni itsu demo kimi wa iru kara  
Ano toki ano basho de mata aeru ka naa  
Shinjitsuzuketa hitomi no oku ni itsu demo boku wa iru ka na  
Umibe ni saita hana no you ni takumashiku_

At a desk, Sho's teacher marked all of his papers… "Hmm… These answers are pretty good. It covers a lot of the material… Maybe he's finally ready."

The teacher met Sho after class again. "Sho?"

"Yes, sensei?"

"You're ready for the test."

_Owatta hazu no yume ga mada bokura no senaka ni  
Semaru kizamareta omoide ga sawagidasu  
Kagirareta ai to jikan wo ryoute ni dakishimeru  
Semete kyou dake wa kienaide_

Tomatta jikan wa yuugure bokura no mirai wo terasu  
Nido to modorenai yo no naka de  
Itsu mademo kataritsuzukeru eikyuu to kibou no uta wo  
Tatoe ima dake to wakatte itemo

The teacher sat in his desk. "Testing time is over. Please hand your papers in."

Sho reluctantly handed his paper in to the teacher, who closely looked at every bit of the papers.

"You'll get the results tomorrow," he said coolly.

The next day, after school, Sho timidly came up to the teacher's desk. An awkward silence followed, until the teacher slowly handed back Sho's test.

"… Good job. You aced it."

Sho looked at the papers and saw a huge "100" at the very top of it. "S-sensei! Thank you so much!"

The teacher gently smiled. "You're the one who tried his best."

* * *

Jun looked silently at the whole scenario. "That was… really cool. So those guys were the Yuuhi squad? That guy's hair… was on fire!"

Hayato grumbled a little. "Oh, Ippongi… That man is my rival, and his hair isn't actually on fire. Actually, we all have counterparts in Yuuhi. Would you like to go and meet the squad yourself?"

The conversation was interrupted by a gruff voice. "That won't be necessary!"

Hayato rest his head on his hand. "Ippongi… I should have expected you to come in uninvited."

"If it makes you feel any better, we did say we were coming today. Didn't you get the message?"

"No… I blocked you on my cell phone."

"How rude!" Ryuuta looked at Jun for a moment. "So… this is the new kid, huh? He looks kinda…"

"Don't finish that sentence."

Jun slowly walked in between the warring leaders. "N-no, it's fine! I mean—"

The two of them now glared at Jun. "_Don't get between us_."

"S-sorry! I'll leave you two alone for now…" Jun backed into what felt like a wall and turned, only to find an irritated, intimidating-looking man behind him.

"S-so sorry for that, too!" He quickly ran to the deck of the boat and saw a person with the same uniform the other Yuuhi members had, with the distinctive accessories that marked a lead cheerer.

"Oh… I never expected anyone to be on the roof."

The other cheerer smiled. "Well, seeing how our leaders are having one of their arguments again, I decided to get some peace and quiet." He turned to Jun. "So you're the new Asahi member, huh? My name's Tanaka Hajime. I'm the Yuuhi rookie, even though I've been on the squad for eight years now."

"Oh… Kashihara Jun. It's nice to see someone from your squad I don't feel like running away from."

Hajime laughed. "They may look tough, but they're all good guys on the inside."

"Well, you guys did save the world twice, and you have to at least be a little good to do that."

"Speaking of which…" The fellow rookie's expression turned serious for a moment. "It seems strange. Last time… Wasn't there something that went wrong?"

Jun, having recently learnt how to sense spirit, could faintly feel a presence behind him.

"Tanaka-san…"

"D-did something happen between the two of them, too?" Jun thought.

"Well," Hajime said, "I suppose I may just be worrying too much. It was nice meeting you for the first time, though. See you later."

"Hmm…" Jun thought. "Maybe it's best not to ask this time." He turned to the presence. "That guy seemed pretty nice. Do I really have to be rivals with him?"

"Well, the whole 'rivalry' thing is really just a formality. I think sempai and Ippongi-san are the only people who actually act on it."

"I see… So, Kikuchi-san…"

"You don't have to be so distant-sounding with me, you know… Shinta is fine."

"A-Alright… Shinta… What is your relationship with Tanaka-san?"

The former rookie would have turned bright pink to his ears if he weren't a pale blue afterimage right now. "T-Tanaka-san? W-We're…We're just friends! He's probably referring to that time their squad had to push ours out of the way!

Jun connected that event to the present. "I didn't doubt that, you know. But I just had an idea: if Tanaka-san could connect my appearance to something that reminded him of you, maybe we could get other people to remember you with stronger hints!"

"That's a great idea, Kashihara-san! But how are you going to do it?"

Jun smiled. "If I can call you Shinta, then you can call me Jun. And trust me; I have my way of putting this plan into action."

* * *

OH YEAH! Seventh Chapter COMPLETED! It took a long while and a lot of inspiration, but I pulled it off! From now on, I'm going to put these author's afterword thingies in the actual document in case I need to add changes. I'm switching back to the Mizuki arc now, and it'll hopefully have 20% more plot! The song used in this chapter is "Pikanchi Double" by Arashi. I think it's just a coincidence that one of the guys there is named Jun, because I had the prototype scenario in my idea book since… before summer 2010, I think. I definitely knew about Persona then, though.

In some news: Innocent Sin on PSP coming soon! If I ever get it, I am probably going to faceplam at my characterization of Jun… How was I supposed to know he was a "romancist" without that Japanese wiki? But at least I think I've gotten everyone else's characterization okay. Honoka-chan will get better, honest.

EOA got more members! Now I'm not as much of a net-hikki anymore! But it would be nice if _you_ joined, _you_.

To a fellow Ouendan/EBA fan I know: my characterization of Rin is surprisingly similar to yours… even if my Kaoru isn't. I hope you finish that fifth chapter of yours!


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